Christopher Awogbolade Awobotu V. The State (1976)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

O. OBASEKI, Ag. J.S.C.

This appeal is against the judgement of Dosumu, J., delivered on the 30th day of August 1974, in Charge No. LA/9c/74 in which he found the Appellant guilty on 17 of the 19 counts in the information (i.e. counts 1,3,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,and 29) charging the Accused with the offences of forgery, uttering and obtaining various sums of money by false pretences. Aggrieved by this conviction the Appellant brought this appeal to this court. Four grounds of appeal were originally given in the Notice of Appeal, but before hearing of this appeal (by leave of this court), 6 new grounds were substituted. These are as follows:-

(1)  The whole trial is illegal and the conviction is accordingly null and void because there was no information filed by or on behalf of the Attorney-General as required by law.
IN THE ALTERNATIVE

(2)   The learned trial Judge erred in law and on the facts in convicting the Appellant in court.
PARTICULAR OF ERROR
(a)   The charge is bad for duplicity.
(b)  It was not established, as alleged in the charge that the Appellant stole the cheques” between the months of April 1971 and August 1971″.
(c)  Having found that the presumption under section 148(a) of the Evidence Act is inapplicable to the facts of this case, there remains no valid or rational grounds for the inference that the Appellant stole the cheques in questions.

(3)  The learned trial Judge misdirected himself in law and on the facts in convicting the Appellant on count 3.
PARTICULARS OF MISDIRECTION
(a)  The learned trial Judge asked himself the wrong question when he said:
“Can the Accused forge the signature of a fictitious persons as I have found G. Ola Coker to be”
(b)The fact that G. Ola Coker is a fictitious person is relevant only to the issue whether or not a document is a false document. Having found that the document (exhibit F5) was a false document, the only relevant question (as to which the learned trial Judge did not direct himself) was whether there was proof of any of the intents required by section 465 of the Criminal Code.
(c) The learned trial Judge ought to have directed himself that the use of a false name only constituted a forgery if, in all the circumstances of the case (including the acquittal of the Appellant on counts 2 and 4) identity was an immaterial factor and/or the Appellant purported to be game specific other persons real or fictitious.

(4)  The learned trial Judge erred in law and on the facts in convicting the Appellant in counts 5, 8, 11, 14 and 17 of the information.
PARTICULARS OF ERROR
(d) it was not established beyond reasonable doubts that the pretence laid in each count was the effective cause of the National Bank of Nigeria Limited parting with the amount of money stated in such count.
(e) There was no proof whatsoever that the Appellant made any pretence concerning the owner of Account No. 8010.

(5) The learned trial Judge erred in law and on the facts in convicting the Appellant on counts 6,7,9,10,12,13,15,16 and 18.
PARTICULARS OF ERROR
(a) The offence alleged in the Particulars of Offence on each count was that the Appellant forged and uttered (as the case may be) a cheque “purporting to have been signed by the owner of Account No. 8010 with the National Bank of Nigeria Limited, Yakubu gowon Street Branch, Lagos.
(b)   None of the cheque alleged to have been forged purported to have been made by”the owner of account No. 8010 aforesaid”. The decision of the learned trial Judge is unreasonable and cannot be supported having regard to the evidence.

(6) The decision of the learned trial Judge is unreasonable and cannot be supported having regard to the evidence.
As the validity of the information and the conviction on all the 17 counts have been seriously challenged. We are setting out the information in full hereunder before proceeding with this judgement. It reads:

IN THE HIGH COURT OF LAGOS STATE IN THE LAGOS JUDICIAL DIVISION
Charge No. LA/9c/74
The State v. Christopher Awogbolade Awobotu (m)
The day of  1974
At the sessions holden at Lagos, on the day of 1974, the Court is informed by the Director of Public Prosecutions and behalf of the State that: Christopher Awogbolade Awobotu (m) is charged with the following offences:-

Statement of Offence – 1st Count
Stealing, contrary to section 390 of the Criminal Code.
Particulars of Offence
Christopher Awogbola Awobotu (m), between the months of April 1971, and August 1971, at Lagos Judicial Division, stole the following National Bank cheques
(a) No. LB-K068939;
(b)  No. LB-K068950;
(c) No. LB-K060883;
(d) No. LB-K060884.
(e) No. LB-E098074; and
(f)  No. LB-P155903:
total value 12k, property of National Bank of Nigeria Limited.

Statement of Offence – 2nd Count
Inducing delivery of money by false pretence contrary to section 419 of the Criminal Code.
Particulars of Offence
Christipher Awogbolade Awobotu (m), on or about the 25th day of August 1971, at Lagos, in the Lagos Judicial Division with intent to defraud, induced National Bank of Nigeria Limited, to deliver to the Nigerian Office Equipment Industries Limited, a sum of $78,000 now N156,000.00 to wit: by crediting the account of the said Company with the said sum of N156,000.00 by false pretences, to wit: by falsely pretending that the owner of account No. 90080 with the said National Bank of Nigeria, Yakubu Gowon Street Branch, Lagos authorised that the accounts of Nigerian Office Equipment Industries Limited be credited with the said sum of N156,000.00.

Statement of Offence – 3rd Count
Forgery, contrary to section 467(2)(g) of the Criminal Code.
Particulars of Offence
Christopher Awogbolade Awobotu (m), on or about the 25th day of August 1971, at Lagos, in the Lagos Judicial Division, forged a Bill of Exhange to wit:  National Bank of Nigerian cheque No. LB-E068939 dated 25th August 1971, for the sum of 78,000pounds now N156,000.00 purporting same to have been signed by one G. Ola Coker.

Statement of Offence – 4th Count
Uttering a false document, contrary to section 468 of the Criminal Code.
Particulars of Offence
Christopher Awogbolade Awobotu (m), on or about the 25th day of August 1971, at Lagos, in the Lagos Judicial Division knowingly and fraudulently uttered a false document to wit: National Bank of Nigeria cheque No. LB-3068939 dated 25th August, 1971, for the sum of N156,000 purporting same to have been signed by one G. Ola Coker.
Statement of Offence 5th Count
Obtaining money by false pretences contrary to section 419 of the Criminal Code.
Particulars of Offences
Christopher Awogbolade Awobotu (m), on or about the 6th day of April, at Lagos, in the Lagos Judicial Division, with intent to defraud, obtained from National Bank of Nigeria Limited, a sum of $3,050 now N6,100.00 by false pretences, to wit: by falsely pretending that the owner of account No.6010 with the said National Bank of Nigeria, Yakubu Gowon Street, Lagos, had authorised that the said sum of N6,100.00 be paid from the said account number 8010. (underlining is ours)

Statement of Offence – 6th Count
Forgery, contrary to section 467(2)(g) of the Criminal Code.
Particulars of Offence
Christopher Awogbolade Awobotu (m), on or about the 6th day of April 1972, at Lagos, in the Lagos Judicial Division, forged a Bill of Exchange to wit; National Bank of Nigeria cheque No. LB-K068950 dated 6th April 1972, for the sum of 3,050pounds now N6,100.00 purporting same to have been signed by the owner of Accounting No, 8010 with the said National Bank of Nigeria Limited, Yakubu Gowon Street Branch, Lagos.